


The Road Ahead

by Inkspill2 (orphan_account)



Series: self indulgent aged-up phineas and ferb AU [1]
Category: Phineas and Ferb
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Aro/Ace Character, Aromantic Character, Brotherly Love, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Platonic Hand Holding, Platonic Male/Male Relationships, Platonic Relationships, Separation Anxiety, aromantic phineas, background buford/baljeet, platonic phineas/ferb
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:07:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27703907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Inkspill2
Summary: Ferb's off to university in England, leaving Phineas to figure out what he wants to do with his life (while coping with separation anxiety). 100% platonic Phineas/Ferb, background Buford/Baljeet.
Relationships: Baljeet Tjinder/Buford van Stomm, Candace Flynn & Phineas Flynn, Ferb Fletcher & Phineas Flynn, Isabella Garcia-Shapiro & Buford van Stomm, Phineas Flynn & Baljeet Tjinder, Phineas Flynn & Buford van Stomm, Phineas Flynn & Isabella Garcia-Shapiro, Phineas Flynn & Perry the Platypus
Series: self indulgent aged-up phineas and ferb AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2026177
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	1. 1

Phineas laid on his bed, watching Ferb straighten his hair in the mirror and tuck in his button-up shirt. Phineas had hardly noticed them both getting older- but in this moment, his step-brother truly looked like the adult he was, especially compared to the little quiet boy Phineas remembered.

Not much about Ferb had changed personality-wise, and Phineas was grateful for that. The boy had gotten taller, broader, lankier for sure, but he was still his brother.

Phineas was also taller. At first his growth spurt had been awkward, and it made him clumsy, but now he was comfortable in this body, even despite how gangly his arms and legs looked.

"You look sharp, Ferb," Phineas said. Ferb smiled slightly. Phineas liked that smile- Ferb didn't smile too much, and when he did, it was small, subtle, like a secret between the brothers. "You nervous?"

Ferb shook his head. Phineas leaned on a hand as Ferb turned around to face him. He sat down on Phineas's bed.

"What's up?" Phineas said. Ferb just took Phineas's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "We haven't been apart for very long… since the day we met, huh?"

Ferb nodded.

"It'll be okay, Ferb, I'll call you every chance I get, I'll talk to you so much you'll get sick of me," Phineas grinned, and Ferb returned with a half-hearted smile.

"I'm not worried about that, Phineas," he said. "I'm worried about _you_."

"Me?" Phineas frowned. "Why?"

Ferb raised an eyebrow. "You've been behaving strangely since I announced where I was going to university."

"I- I haven't," Phineas said, reaching to scratch the back of his ear.

"I know your tell by now," Ferb said. "You scratch your ear like that when you're lying."

Phineas blushed. _Damn. He knows me better than I know myself._ "Maybe I've been feeling a _little_ weird, just 'cause we've never really been apart for a long time, like I said."

Ferb nodded, giving Phineas's hand another squeeze before releasing it and standing back up.

"I'm just concerned because you haven't talked to me very much about this," Ferb said. "I feel as though you're not taking it as well as you seem to be."

Phineas stared at the ceiling. "Maybe. I don't know," he said.

Ferb nodded, as though waiting for Phineas to continue, but he didn't.

Finally, Ferb finished putting gel in his hair and gave Phineas another small smile. "Well," he said. "I suppose this is it."

"Yeah," Phineas said. "Don't…" he swallowed, standing up. "Don't forget about me, okay?"

Ferb put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "You know I never would."

"I know," Phineas cleared his throat. "Thank you, Ferb. You're… the best brother I could ask for." he knew it was cheesy, but he didn't care. Cheesy is what he knew best.

Ferb pulled Phineas in for a hug. The older boy didn't have to say anything at all. Phineas just wrapped his arms around him and stayed in his embrace for as long as he could.

Phineas wasn't sure he'd ever been the one to break a hug in his life. Ferb broke this one, placed his hand back on Phineas's shoulder. Without another word, the pair left their bedroom.

~

"He hasn't been answering my texts, either," Isabella frowned down at her phone.

"He must just be mopin' around because of Ferb." Buford shrugged. "We just have to give him some time."

"I do not know… Phineas is not the moping type," Baljeet said. "He may be really upset."

Isabella took a sip of her smoothie. "We should go see him, at least. It doesn't feel right hanging out just the three of us."

"What, we're not enough for you, Isa?" Buford said with mock-offense, but his teasing grin ruined the illusion.

Isabella elbowed Buford affectionately. "So dramatic."

"I live for the arts," Buford shrugged, still smiling.

Baljeet drank down his own smoothie thoughtfully. "That is right, how is your movie coming along, Buford?"

"Could be better," Buford bit his straw. "One of the actors decided to duck out on me last minute. Like I'm some kinda chump! What, he has better things to do than be in Loup de L'aube?"

"Wolf of… what?" Isabella furrowed her eyebrows, trying to recall the very little French she knew.

"Wolf of Dawn," Buford said, and Baljeet snorted.

"Wolf of Dawn? Is it a werewolf movie?"

"The wolf is a metaphor, 'Jeet." Buford rolled his eyes. "Anyway, my secondary character quit on me, so I gotta replace him. Isa?"

"Didn't you say it was a part for a guy?" Isabella frowned.

"I'm flexible,"

"You did not ask me!" Baljeet glared across the table, his straw in his mouth.

"I thought you said my movies were pretentious and self-indulgent," Buford said, his tone more teasing than bitter.

"Well they _are_ , all dramas are," Baljeet huffed. "But… they are still the best drama films I have ever seen, and besides, I am offended that I would not even be _considered_!"

"You were considered." Buford looked taken aback. "I just figured, ya'know, I thought you didn't like my movies, so, why the hell would you want to be _in_ one?"

Baljeet flushed a little. "Alright, Buford…" he sighed. "I… _do_ like your movies. I just did not want to admit it."

Buford's ears tinged pink before he laughed. "Oh, hell yeah!" he said. "Well, 'Jeet, looks like you're working with me now!" he shook Baljeet's hand, who sighed.

"Um, guys," Isabella said. "You haven't forgotten about Phineas, have you?"

"O'course not," Buford scoffed. "Isa, 'Jeet, let's get movin'." he hopped to his feet.

The three of them arrived on Phineas's doorstep after about five minutes. Isabella knocked on the door with a small fist and waited patiently with the two boys at her side.

Linda opened the door. "Oh, hello!" she said. "I'm sorry, Phineas hasn't left his room all day. I'm worried about him. Maybe you three will have better luck than I did."

"Thank you, Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher," Isabella said, like they were still kids.

Isabella led the way into the house with Buford and Baljeet following. She knocked politely on Phineas's door.

No response.

Isabella shrugged and opened the door. "Heyy, Phineas…"

The room was a bit of a mess, more than it had ever been. Clothes, blueprints, notebooks, and boxes of old junk littered the floor. The redhead had his back turned to them, and he was building something relatively small.

Isabella suddenly felt like they were intruding. She cleared her throat. "Phineas?"

"Oh." Phineas turned toward them, and smiled, a bit sadly. "Sorry, guys, I've been kinda… spaced out."

"What's goin' on with you, dinna' bell?" Buford said, kicking aside some papers as he crossed the room.

Phineas pulled his knees to his chest. "I don't know… I'm just, worried about Ferb, I guess?"

"Worried about Ferb?" Isabella repeated, frowning.

"What's to worry about?" Buford said. "The guy can handle anything."

Phineas shrugged, looking at the floor. "I guess."

"You working on a project?" Baljeet asked tentatively.

Phineas shrugged again. "Guess so."

The group fell silent, and Phineas went back to his work.

"We were just wondering why you haven't been responding to us," Isabella said.

"O-oh," Phineas frowned. "I, um, I'm sorry. I've been up since 3am, I've just been building, I didn't stop to check my phone."

"3am?!" Isabella said. "Why on earth would you start a project so late?"

"Couldn't sleep, that's all," Phineas smiled, but it wasn't very reassuring at all. "So I started thinking, why not get started on a project, right? So I'm gonna upgrade the toaster."

"...I… see," Baljeet said.

"Well, um," Isabella tossed her hair behind her shoulder. "We were inviting you to hang out with us, you wanna come?"

Phineas shrugged. "Sorry, guys, but I think I'm gonna finish this toaster."

"Come on, dinna' bell." Buford dragged Phineas to his feet.

"Yeah, even before Ferb left, you've been doing projects alone so much you've become kind of a shut-in," Isabella said. "And you know, there isn't much time until _I_ go off to college, too."

Phineas's eyes widened. "Oh, you too, huh?" he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Seems like everyone's… leaving, doesn't it?"

Baljeet frowned. "Aren't you leaving soon too, Phineas?"

Phineas shrugged. "Not sure yet." he looked up as his pet platypus crawled out from under his bed. "Oh, there you are, Perry. Were you hiding under there all day?"

"You haven't decided yet?" Isabella said. "I would've thought you could go to whatever college you wanted. You're really smart."

Phineas shrugged and stroked Perry's fur. "Thanks. I guess I just was kind of an underachiever in high school. I made a lot of shit, but that doesn't really improve my grades."

"You let your grades drop?!" Baljeet said, taking a few steps closer. "I am so disappointed in you, Phineas!"

"Hey, hey, leave him alone, 'Jeet," Buford grabbed Baljeet's shirt and tugged him back. "The guy's got enough to deal with, he doesn't need you grade-shaming him."

"Baljeet's right," Phineas said. "I'm not sure what happened, but I just. I dunno. Didn't have the motivation anymore. I had so many projects around here, and I was so focused on them, I kinda… let my grades drop."

"That's not as big of a deal as Baljeet thinks it is," Isabella said, casting a glare at said boy. "The truth is, Phineas, high school is 90% useless. And in a lot of ways, you were too _smart_ for school. You went home and built these amazing things, but it didn't matter to them, because their measure of intelligence is filling out bubble sheets and reading textbooks."

"Do not say that," Baljeet said. "The school system may not be perfect, but it is important! You cannot let your grades drop just because you do not _feel_ like doing your work."

Phineas stared at the ground again.

"Shut up, Baljeet," Buford snapped. "That's the dumbest thing you've said in a while."

"Yeah," Isabella said. "Phineas, if you don't want to go to college, if that's not the place for you, there's always other options."

"But it feels so strange to see everyone… doing _better_ than me," Phineas said, a bit sheepishly. "All I'm good at is- well… this." he motioned to the toaster. "I just feel a bit… _lost_ , in the adult world. I don't know where I fit."

Isabella patted Phineas's arm. "It's going to be okay, okay? You're going to do great, but you don't have to rush yourself. Just… do what feels right."

Buford and Baljeet just nodded, Baljeet not looking up at the rest of the group.

"...I'll try, Isabella," Phineas said finally. He smiled a bit, and Isabella gave him another pat on the arm.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" she asked.

Phineas shook his head. "That's really nice, but… I don't really feel up to it today."

"No problem," Isabella said. "Take care of yourself, alright? Text us if you change your mind."

And with that, the three friends left.

  
  



	2. 2

Ferb handed some money to the cab driver and stepped outside. The brisk London air hit his lungs. For once, it was not raining. Ferb dragged his rolling suitcase along the pavement.

_ I suppose this is home.  _ He thought.  _ It doesn't feel that way, though. _

"Ferb, lad, you've gotten so big since the last time we saw you!" Grandpa Fletcher gave Ferb a brief hug, ruffling his hair and calling back to his wife. "Hasn't he gotten so much taller than the last time we saw 'im?"

"He's gotten so tall!" Grandma Fletcher also gave Ferb a hug, smiling brightly. "You must've been eating your vegetables."

"I reckon ya' best stop growing, or you'll give yer old grandparents a shock every time you see us," Grandpa Fletcher ruffled Ferb's hair again.

Ferb smiled, letting his grandparents do the talking as they brought him to the house.

"You're still quite the good listener, eh?" Grandpa Fletcher said. "Never been much of a talker, this one."

"Tis better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt," Ferb said.

"He's got you there," Grandma Fletcher teased. "Perhaps it is better to be a man of few words."

"I prefer to think of myself as a man of as many words as necessary," Ferb said.

"You've always been bright," Grandpa Fletcher said. "Come on, then, let's get you settled."

Later, Ferb unpacked his suitcase into his new room, satisfied with how tidily everything was put away.

He sat on his bed and thoughtfully flipped through a book. He had to admit, he felt a little less confident knowing Phineas would not be across the room the next morning, and that he would likely not see him for quite a while.

Ferb set the book aside, taking a deep breath. This was not helpful. He needed a distraction.

As though it was fate, that was when Ferb locked eyes with the one item he hadn't taken out of his open suitcase. His skateboard.

~

" _ Phineas _ ! What on earth did you do to the toaster?!" his mom stormed into his room, her frustrated expression a now familiar sight for Phineas.

"I upgraded it," Phineas said, not looking up from drawing a blueprint.

"The toaster doesn't need to be upgraded, Phineas, it just needs to make toast, and now there's so many buttons I don't even know how to do  _ that  _ anymore," his mom sighed heavily, rubbing her temples. "I mean, first the freezer, now this! You- what are you making plans for now?"

"Don't worry, Mom, it's just another robot. For  _ me _ ." he added quickly.

"Just keep it out of the kitchen," his mom sighed. "It's not that I don't appreciate your creativity, sweetie, it's just, it's too high-tech for me. I barely know how to use my iPhone."

"Alright. Sorry, Mom," Phineas said. "I just get kinda bored, I guess."

His mom frowned sympathetically. "Maybe you could work with your father in the antique shop? Just as long as you're not going to school."

_ I'm not  _ **_that_ ** _ bored.  _ Phineas thought.

"I'll think about it, Mom."

~

Ferb was keeping a pretty good momentum, twisting and flipping precisely, and keeping from falling, all while looping around the deep inclines of the skate park.

"Franklin!"

Ferb was startled to hear  _ that _ name. He slowed to a stop and stepped off his skateboard.

"Franklin! Oh my God, is that really you?" a girl was standing at the edge of the skate park, staring down at Ferb, who was still in the pit.

He gave a small wave.

"Of course it's you," she laughed. "Look at that green hair. You skate pretty good, Franklin."

She looked…  _ familiar _ , but Ferb didn't have a clue who she was or why she was calling him by his full name.

"Aw, don't you remember me?" she gestured to herself. "Olivia! We met when we were kids."

_ Oh.  _ It must have been a very long time ago, if she knew him as 'Franklin'.

"I usually go by Ferb now," Ferb said.

"That's a funny name," Olivia smiled. "Kinda suits you."

Ferb shrugged.

"Olive!" another girl shouted from behind the fence that bordered the skate park.

"Oh, I gotta get back to my friends," Olivia said. "You wanna come with, Ferb?"

Ferb nodded.  _ I suppose there's no harm in it. _

An hour later, he found himself sitting in a cafe listening to Olivia's friends argue over who's turn it was to wash the dishes. He had long forgotten their names.

"I'm not cleaning anythin' till I get proof it's my turn," a freckled redhead girl slammed her fist on the table.

"I  _ gave _ you proof," an exasperated boy with glasses said. "Time and time again, you still will  _ not  _ accept it! I am  _ so  _ very tired of this."

"Yeah? Well, maybe I don't wanna wash the stupid dishes for the fortieth time this week,"

"What do you mean?! We wash them weekly, and  _ I _ did it last week!"

"That's not how I remember it."

"Yes, it is, shut up."

"I wanted to switch to disposable plates and plasticware, but  _ nooooo _ !"

"That is a drain on the environment and you know it!"

Ferb felt his heart slowly sinking. This argument seemed familiar to him.

He bit his nails and glanced out at the cloudy sky.

"You okay?" Olivia asked.

_ Homesick _ . Ferb almost said. Instead, he just nodded.

~

_ Okay, maybe I  _ **_am_ ** _ bored enough. _

No doubt about it, Phineas was thoroughly out of ideas. He had made every mechanical pet toy for Perry he could possibly think of, had upgraded his alarm clock, lava lamp, toolbox, and everything else down to the lightbulb he put in his ceiling light.

Any other 'improvements' he could make to his environment would ultimately annoy his parents.

Phineas sighed, laying back on his bed. He stroked Perry's fur.

"At least you're a good listener, like Ferb," Phineas said to the platypus.

Perry chattered, settling in at Phineas's side.

_ Maybe it wouldn't be so bad working in the antiques shop. I like… things made of wood, and metal. _

_...of course, I do prefer to be able to modify them a bit, not just leave them behind glass to gather dust, getting older and somehow more valuable from being obsolete. _

Clearly, Phineas had a lower opinion of antiquing than he himself had realized.

_ Still, what choice do I have? Get a worse job and move out alone? Try to get a degree I don't really care about?  _ He sighed. At least working with his dad would be somewhat enjoyable.

He rolled up his blueprint and placed it with the others. "One last project before I resign myself to my fate," he told Perry, drawing out a blueprint from the pile. "I'm gonna need a  _ lot _ more parts."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got Shit Planned so stay tuned <3

**Author's Note:**

> I'm planning on continuing this weekly, maybe more frequently, depending on how productive I get. So if you're interested, definitely stay tuned.


End file.
